THE SPACE BETWEEN US

Chapter Three: The Distance Between Them

The meeting continued for another forty minutes.

Ava answered questions about materials, scheduling, suppliers, and the challenges of restoring the building's original features. She remained professional, even when Ethan questioned her calculations.

Especially when Ethan questioned her calculations.

By the end, she had convinced Daniel that her proposal deserved further consideration.

Ethan, however, remained unconvinced about the chairs.

“I'll send over revised cost options,” Ava said as she packed her presentation.

“Please do,” Daniel replied. “We will review them before making a final decision.”

Ava nodded.

“Of course.”

She stood, reached for her coffee, and discovered that it had gone cold.

She took one reluctant sip.

Her face betrayed her immediately.

Ethan noticed.

“You don't like cold coffee?”

“I don't like coffee that has been sitting here since the beginning of the meeting.”

“There's a café downstairs.”

“I am aware of how cafés work.”

Ryan made a strangled noise.

Ethan stared at her.

Then, unexpectedly, he laughed.

It was brief, but genuine.

Ava was momentarily thrown off balance.

She had expected an offended billionaire's heir. She had not expected him to find her insult funny.

He recovered quickly.

“Do you always speak to people like this?”

“Like what?”

“Like you're doing them a favour by allowing them to exist in your general vicinity.”

Ava slipped her notebook into her bag.

“Do you always insult potential clients?”

“Only when they earn it.”

“Then I'll try to behave.”

“Please do. It would be a refreshing change.”

She turned to leave.

Ethan watched her go.

Ryan waited until the door closed.

Then he slowly turned toward his friend.

“Well.”

“Don't.”

“I haven't said anything.”

“You're thinking loudly.”

Ryan placed a hand over his heart.

“I am simply amazed. A woman has managed to disagree with you for forty minutes, insult your personality, and leave without asking whether you have a girlfriend.”

Ethan picked up his folder.

“She was unprofessional.”

“Absolutely.”

“She was argumentative.”

“Terrible.”

“And she was unnecessarily defensive about those chairs.”

Ryan nodded solemnly.

“Twenty thousand dollars' worth of emotional damage.”

Ethan threw a pen at him.

Ryan caught it.

“Missed me.”

Outside the building, Ava was already regretting every decision that had brought her to Manhattan.

Maya followed her down the steps.

“I think it went well.”

Ava stopped walking.

“Did we attend the same meeting?”

“You presented your ideas. Daniel listened. Ethan argued with you for nearly an hour.”

“He was impossible.”

“And you were adorable.”

Ava turned slowly.

“Do not call me adorable.”

“You're right. Terrifying. You were terrifying.”

“Thank you.”

Maya hooked her arm through Ava's.

“Also, he laughed at your joke.”

“It wasn't a joke.”

“That's what makes it worse. He likes you.”

“He does not like me.”

“Fine. He finds you interesting.”

“He finds me irritating.”

Maya considered this.

“Sometimes those things arrive together.”

Ava pulled out her phone.

There were two new messages.

Lily: How did it go?

Lily: Did you get the job?

Ava typed.

Ava: The meeting went well. Ethan Carter is the most irritating man I've ever met.

Lily replied immediately.

Lily: Is he handsome?

Ava stared at the screen.

Ava: That is irrelevant.

Lily: So yes.

Ava: I am blocking you.

Lily: You love me.

Ava slipped the phone into her bag.

Maya was grinning.

“Your sister has a point.”

“She has no point. She has a nursing textbook and too much free time.”

“Still. Was he handsome?”

Ava kept walking.

“No comment.”

Maya burst out laughing.

That evening, the Carter family gathered at Daniel's Manhattan home for dinner.

Charlotte had invited Ryan, claiming that she needed someone to help her convince their father to let her organise a charity event without turning it into a corporate presentation.

Ryan had accepted because the food was good.

Ethan had arrived late.

Daniel noticed immediately.

“You're late.”

“Good evening to you too, Dad.”

“We agreed to review the hotel budget tonight.”

“I sent you the revised figures.”

“I prefer to discuss them in person.”

Charlotte looked up from her plate.

“Translation: Dad missed you and doesn't know how to say it.”

“Charlotte,” Daniel warned.

“What? It's a family dinner. I'm adding warmth.”

Ryan lifted his glass.

“To warmth. A rare and valuable resource in this household.”

Ethan gave him a warning look.

Ryan smiled sweetly.

“I'm being supportive.”

Daniel placed his fork down.

“The designer has some good ideas, but she needs to understand that this is a major development. We cannot make decisions based on sentiment.”

Eleanor Carter, Daniel's mother, sat at the other end of the table. She had a quiet elegance and the sort of gaze that made people confess things without understanding why.

She looked at Ethan.

“How was the meeting?”

“Fine.”

“Fine,” she repeated. “An interesting word. It can mean anything from wonderful to catastrophic.”

“It was productive.”

“Ah. So catastrophic.”

Charlotte laughed.

Ethan sighed.

“Why does everyone in this family interrogate me?”

“Because you answer questions like a man hiding state secrets,” Charlotte said.

Daniel placed his fork down.

“The designer has some good ideas, but she needs to understand that this is a major development. We cannot make decisions based on sentiment.”

Eleanor's expression softened.

“Your mother cared deeply about that hotel.”

“I know,” Daniel replied.

“She wanted people to feel welcome there.”

Daniel looked away briefly.

“And I want the hotel to succeed.”

“Those things are not enemies, Daniel.”

The words settled over the table.

Ethan thought of Ava standing in the conference room, explaining why a place should feel like somewhere people belonged.

He wondered what his mother would have said about the design.

He suspected she would have approved.

Charlotte noticed his expression.

“So, what is the designer like?”

“Difficult,” Ethan said.

Ryan nearly choked on his water.

“Difficult?”

“She challenges everything.”

“Does she have a name?” Charlotte asked.

“Ava Bennett.”

Charlotte smiled.

“Pretty name.”

Ethan looked at her sharply.

“Why is everyone commenting on her name?”

“Because you said it like you were reading a romantic poem.”

“I did not.”

Ryan put down his fork.

“Please, continue. This is better than television.”

Daniel ignored them.

“Whatever her personality, I expect you to keep the project on schedule. If she cannot work within our budget, we will find someone who can.”

Ethan's jaw tightened.

“We haven't given her a chance to revise the numbers yet.”

“Then she should revise them.”

“She will.”

“Good.”

Daniel returned to his dinner as if the matter were settled.

Eleanor watched her grandson.

“You like her work.”

Ethan paused.

“I respect her work.”

“Of course.”

“And I don't particularly like her.”

Eleanor smiled.

“I didn't ask whether you liked her.”

Ryan lowered his head, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

Ethan pointed his fork at him.

“One word.”

Ryan pressed his lips together.

Eleanor took a sip of water.

“Your grandfather once told me that the people who challenge us most are sometimes the people who help us see what we have been refusing to look at.”

Charlotte leaned forward.

“Grandmother, are you saying Ethan is going to fall in love with the designer?”

“No,” Eleanor replied serenely. “I'm saying he should stop talking about her before he convinces himself that he isn't interested.”

Ryan lost the battle and burst out laughing.

Ethan stood.

“I have work to do.”

Charlotte smiled at him.

“Goodnight, Romeo.”

“Goodnight, Charlotte.”

“And don't forget to dream about the chairs!”

He left the dining room while everyone laughed behind him.

For a moment, Daniel watched the doorway.

Then he turned to his mother.

“You shouldn't encourage this.”

Eleanor's smile faded into something more thoughtful.

“I'm not encouraging anything, Daniel. I'm reminding you that your son is allowed to become a man in his own way.”

Daniel said nothing.

But later that evening, when he reviewed Ava Bennett's portfolio again, he spent more time looking at the designs than he had intended.

Back in Brooklyn, Ava was sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop open, surrounded by drawings and fabric samples.

Her father had finished work and was drinking tea. Margaret was folding laundry nearby, while Noah was attempting to balance a spoon on his nose.

Lily sat beside Ava, reading the notes from the meeting.

“So,” Lily said, “Ethan Carter.”

Ava did not look up.

“No.”

“I haven't asked anything.”

“You were about to.”

“Is he really that annoying?”

“Yes.”

“Does he look like the photographs?”

Ava stopped typing.

“Why does that matter?”

Lily smiled.

“Because I'm curious.”

“He looks like a man who has never had to wait for a bus in the rain.”

Noah finally dropped the spoon.

“That's oddly specific.”

“He probably has a driver,” Ava continued. “And a personal assistant. And someone whose entire job is to make sure he never encounters an inconvenience.”

Robert chuckled.

“Perhaps he's simply doing his job.”

“Dad, he called my chairs emotionally expensive.”

Noah looked up.

“Can chairs have emotions?”

“Noah.”

“I'm asking for science.”

Margaret shook her head, smiling.

“Did he at least listen to your ideas?”

Ava paused.

“Yes.”

“And did he understand what you were trying to do?”

“Eventually.”

“Then perhaps there is hope.”

Ava closed her laptop.

“I'm not interested in finding hope in Ethan Carter, Mum. I'm interested in getting the contract.”

Her father nodded.

“That's what matters. Keep your work strong, and let your work speak for you.”

Lily leaned her head on Ava's shoulder.

“You know we're proud of you, right?”

Ava looked at her sister.

“I know.”

“Even if the rich man says no.”

“Especially if the rich man says no.”

Noah raised his hand.

“If he says no, can we still sell me?”

“Go to bed,” all three women said at once.

Noah stood, looking offended.

“This family doesn't support entrepreneurship.”

He disappeared down the hallway.

Ava laughed despite herself.

For a little while, the Carter meeting faded into the background. There was only the familiar warmth of home, her mother's gentle voice, her father's quiet pride, and Lily's shoulder pressed against hers.

Ava knew what she wanted.

She wanted a successful studio. She wanted to build beautiful spaces. She wanted to help her family without having to worry about every unexpected bill.

She wanted a life that belonged to her.

She had no intention of allowing a man like Ethan Carter to change any of that.

Across the city, Ethan sat alone in his apartment, reviewing the same hotel presentation.

He stopped at the image of the lobby.

The chairs were still too expensive.

The colours were still warmer than he would have chosen.

And the designer was still the most infuriating woman he had met in years.

Yet he found himself studying the rendering again.

He imagined his mother walking through the finished lobby, pausing near the fireplace, running her hand along the old brickwork.

For the first time in months, the hotel felt less like a test he needed to pass and more like something worth building.

He picked up his phone and opened the email draft he had started after the meeting.

Subject: Hotel Interior Design — Follow-Up

He typed a sentence, deleted it, then tried again.

Finally, he wrote:

Ms. Bennett, please send the revised chair options and your updated budget. I'd also like to discuss your plans for preserving the hotel's original features.

He hesitated before adding:

Your presentation raised some interesting points.

It wasn't an apology.

It wasn't a compliment he would ever admit was a compliment.

But it was a beginning.

He pressed send.

Then his phone buzzed.

Ryan: So, did you email your future wife?

Ethan stared at the message.

Ethan: I'm blocking you.

Ryan: You said that last week. I'm still here.

Ethan: Goodnight, Ryan.

Ryan: Sleep well. Don't let the chairs haunt you.

Ethan put the phone facedown.

He should have been thinking about the budget, the schedule, and the future of Carter Development Group.

Instead, he remembered Ava's expression when she told him that a hotel should be designed for people, not photographs.

He remembered the way she refused to back down.

And, most annoyingly, he remembered how she had looked at him as though his surname meant absolutely nothing to her.

He wasn't used to that.

He wasn't sure he liked it.

And he certainly wasn't prepared to admit that he wanted to see her again.

Somewhere between Brooklyn and Manhattan, two people had already decided they could never stand each other.

Neither of them understood yet that the distance between their worlds was only the beginning.

The real space between them would be harder to cross.